Profile in courage: Edmund G. Ross

Edmund G. Ross (1826-1907), a newspaper publisher by profession, was a Civil War major who represented Kansas in the U.S. Senate and is best known for casting the deciding vote against radical Republicans’ attempt to remove Abraham Lincoln’s success, President Andrew Jackson, from office, an action that might have forever changed U.S. democracy.

Ross faced ostracism from fellow Republicans, losing a bid for re-election and a race for government. Chased out of the Republican Party, he moved to New Mexico, where he eventually served as a territorial governor known for rooting out corruption.

His reputation eventually rehabilitated, his likeness for a time was included as one of Kansas’ representatives in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. Statues of Dwight Eisenhower and Amelia Earhart are now featured there.